JAR Study Coming Up

[Zipsrifle]

Hopefully with whatever upgrade the do, we can get a new rifle range stuck in there too. I don't think it would require a lot, and it would be a big improvement to the range in the basement of Schrank South now where they get water leaking in from the parking deck above. When you consider all the lounges and upgraded facilities some of the other sports have, it would be nice to get something for a team that recently produced a national champion. I'm probably dreaming, but hey, it would be nice.

[Roo]

I know myself and others mentioned the Cavaliers DLeague team and where they would be located, looks like they are going to Canton. This is an opportunity lost for Akron, if they had a downtown arena or were in the stages of doing so, I am sure Akron could have made a strong case to have that team there and not Canton. But there is nothing stopping them from moving in the future should this idea ever come to fruition....

[Spin]

I know myself and others mentioned the Cavaliers DLeague team and where they would be located, looks like they are going to Canton. This is an opportunity lost for Akron, if they had a downtown arena or were in the stages of doing so, I am sure Akron could have made a strong case to have that team there and not Canton. But there is nothing stopping them from moving in the future should this idea ever come to fruition....

Have you been to the Canton Civic Center in the past, oh, 30 years?A new arena would have the D-League team BEGGING to come to Akron... That hole makes Thurmon Munson Stadium look like PNC...Personally I say let Canton have the D League. To me minor league hockey is more entertaining than minor league basketball anytime. And the Zips hockey team would have a local place to play.

[yazan07]

I know myself and others mentioned the Cavaliers DLeague team and where they would be located, looks like they are going to Canton. This is an opportunity lost for Akron, if they had a downtown arena or were in the stages of doing so, I am sure Akron could have made a strong case to have that team there and not Canton. But there is nothing stopping them from moving in the future should this idea ever come to fruition....

Is, or isn't this going to happen?

[scottditzen]

Where in the world did you get this???

I know myself and others mentioned the Cavaliers DLeague team and where they would be located, looks like they are going to Canton. This is an opportunity lost for Akron, if they had a downtown arena or were in the stages of doing so, I am sure Akron could have made a strong case to have that team there and not Canton. But there is nothing stopping them from moving in the future should this idea ever come to fruition....

Is, or isn't this going to happen?

[taxpayer]

Seems seating will be the same for the upcoming year so once again I believe it money well spent to improve the JAR's main entry foyer with better lighting, some better positioned flat screens with highlights or game specific programming and some additional kiosk's for food & drinks. Some improved exterior signage and lighting wouldn't hurt either.If the team is able to meet the challenge of an upgraded schedule and plays what apparently will be an uptemo style of play, the JAR will need to accomodate and more importantly encourgage a larger student body presence which could be an additional source of home court "advantage".

[yazan07]

Where in the world did you get this???

I know myself and others mentioned the Cavaliers DLeague team and where they would be located, looks like they are going to Canton. This is an opportunity lost for Akron, if they had a downtown arena or were in the stages of doing so, I am sure Akron could have made a strong case to have that team there and not Canton. But there is nothing stopping them from moving in the future should this idea ever come to fruition....

Is, or isn't this going to happen?

There was a video released a few months ago by University Park Alliance showing their vision for the future of University Park area. Here is the website, the video will probably be the first thing to pop up. The artist renderings of future downtown Akron are a little ways into the video, and I just took a screenshot of that part of the video.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Dambrot mentioned this at a golf outing back in 2008. He was pretty pumped about it. Then the recession hit, and the plans got shelved.Somewhere in the bowels of ZN.o there's a recap of mine from that golf outing.

[Dr Z]

Where in the world did you get this???

3 minutes into the video. (Uploaded by upakron on May 23, 2011)

[scottditzen]

Oh yeah...I've seen that video.Thanks Yaz and Dr. Z.

[Spin]

Ada Zip to answer your question about the D League, the games I've seen on TV are poorly attended. It's just not anything close to NBA basketball, unlike minor league baseball and hockey.I've seen more minor league basketball leagues come and go, than anything else...

[Blue & Gold]

Ada Zip to answer your question about the D League, the games I've seen on TV are poorly attended. It's just not anything close to NBA basketball, unlike minor league baseball and hockey.I've seen more minor league basketball leagues come and go, than anything else...

That's what I was wondering. While almost anything to draw folks downtown is a good thing, I was wondering whether this is/was anything to be too upset about not landing.

[Spin]

Although, on second thought, anything Canton can do, Akron can do better...I'd still rather have a REAL arena suitable for hockey, and chase down a ECHL, CHL, or even an OHL franchise. I think it would be more viable.

[ZachTheZip]

Maybe if we do build an arena, the D-league team would move here like the Aeros did. I can see a D-league being more successful in Akron than somewhere else, especially if it's affiliated with the Cavs. Say they draft a prospect and want them to spend a year developing. At the very least, that would draw the Cavs beat media in, since it's such an easy drive, much easier than Canton or Erie.It's not like the Aeros suffer from poor attendance because the Indians are 40 miles away. I think it actually helps. A minor league team won't do as well if it's too far outside the region dominated by the pro team's fans unless it's the only show in town.

[akzipper]

Although, on second thought, anything Canton can do, Akron can do better...I'd still rather have a REAL arena suitable for hockey, and chase down a ECHL, CHL, or even an OHL franchise. I think it would be more viable.

I would love to see Akron bring in an D-League team and a OHL franchise. Obviously we would be better suited than Canton, and out of all of the lower hockey leagues the OHL is the most interesting. Basically a lot of the NHL's top players get their start there, and the Erie Otters would make a good regional rival. That team has drawn very well during their existence and Akron could have potential to do the same. Better than that would be for the Akron Zips to start up a hockey program, but I highly doubt that will happen. Given a first-class arena even a newly created team would be able to pull in some good recruits...But at the end of the day I want the Zips to be the "main" tenant of the arena. We shouldn't have to settle for second best, like a Villanova or other schools that share arena's with pro teams. To them it's almost like an away game, except for the few logos slapped on top of a generic court.

[72 Roo]

Although, on second thought, anything Canton can do, Akron can do better...I'd still rather have a REAL arena suitable for hockey, and chase down a ECHL, CHL, or even an OHL franchise. I think it would be more viable.

I would love to see Akron bring in an D-League team and a OHL franchise. Obviously we would be better suited than Canton, and out of all of the lower hockey leagues the OHL is the most interesting. Basically a lot of the NHL's top players get their start there, and the Erie Otters would make a good regional rival. That team has drawn very well during their existence and Akron could have potential to do the same. Better than that would be for the Akron Zips to start up a hockey program, but I highly doubt that will happen. Given a first-class arena even a newly created team would be able to pull in some good recruits...But at the end of the day I want the Zips to be the "main" tenant of the arena. We shouldn't have to settle for second best, like a Villanova or other schools that share arena's with pro teams. To them it's almost like an away game, except for the few logos slapped on top of a generic court.

Title IX means you will never see any further expansion of men's sports while we field a football team. No AD in his right mind would do that at our level.

[akzipper]

Although, on second thought, anything Canton can do, Akron can do better...I'd still rather have a REAL arena suitable for hockey, and chase down a ECHL, CHL, or even an OHL franchise. I think it would be more viable.

I would love to see Akron bring in an D-League team and a OHL franchise. Obviously we would be better suited than Canton, and out of all of the lower hockey leagues the OHL is the most interesting. Basically a lot of the NHL's top players get their start there, and the Erie Otters would make a good regional rival. That team has drawn very well during their existence and Akron could have potential to do the same. Better than that would be for the Akron Zips to start up a hockey program, but I highly doubt that will happen. Given a first-class arena even a newly created team would be able to pull in some good recruits...But at the end of the day I want the Zips to be the "main" tenant of the arena. We shouldn't have to settle for second best, like a Villanova or other schools that share arena's with pro teams. To them it's almost like an away game, except for the few logos slapped on top of a generic court.

Title IX means you will never see any further expansion of men's sports while we field a football team. No AD in his right mind would do that at our level.

Can't we add men's and women's hockey? I never said we had to add just a men's team...

[ZachTheZip]

If we ever wanted to add a men's sport, all we would need to do is add women's Rowing which uses a ton of scholarships for Title IX and hardly costs a thing.

[GoZips]

Although, on second thought, anything Canton can do, Akron can do better...I'd still rather have a REAL arena suitable for hockey, and chase down a ECHL, CHL, or even an OHL franchise. I think it would be more viable.

There will NEVER be an arena that can combo basketball and hockey at UA as long ascoach Dambrot is the head coach. Hockey arenas DESTROY the intimate contact so important for home court advantage.Perhaps you and willy washy mayor Piss-queak want hockey; the basketball program does NOT.Be a good Lib and squander a couple of hundred million on a civic arena. Meanwhile UA will builda basketball arena on campus.

[Spin]

Hello... Akron already HAS a hockey team. It's an entertaining brand of hockey, too. Finished 7-7 in their conference after moving up to Division 2 last year, against Dayton, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, IUP, Toledo, West Virginia, Wright State, and next year Ohio. Last year in the non-con they played Can't, tOSU, CSU, BGSU, Kentucky.They just need a closer place to play home games...

[Spin]

There will NEVER be an arena that can combo basketball and hockey at UA as long ascoach Dambrot is the head coach. Hockey arenas DESTROY the intimate contact so important for home court advantage.

There's no reason it has to. Modern construction methods can have stands that come right up to the basketball floor, and disappear for full floor events. It's that kind of single minded thinking that divides groups and results in nobody getting anything done.

[Dave in Green]

What basketball fan wouldn't rather have an optimized basketball arena than a compromised combo arena if given a choice? Having said that, if economics force a combo arena that could generate more income than a dedicated basketball arena, I agree with Spin that it should be modeled on whatever is currently the state-of-the-art combo arena. Maybe someone can point to the best example of a combo arena with minimal compromises for basketball.

[ZachTheZip]

The Q is a really nice basketball arena. It's also a great hockey arena and AFL stadium. It's entirely possible to have a modular seating design that is perfectly configured for whatever sport is being played.

[Blue & Gold]

The Q is a really nice basketball arena. It's also a great hockey arena and AFL stadium. It's entirely possible to have a modular seating design that is perfectly configured for whatever sport is being played.

I respectfully disagree. Those NBA arenas are, IMO, just awful for basketball. They're fine for hockey & arena football. Having said that, I'd rather have a new combo-arena than no new arena at all. Another point to consider, is that a combo-arena is able to hold other events such as ice capades (whatever, at least it'd get folks downtown) monster truck rallies, motorcross, etc.But I do agree with KD, that a basketball-specific arena is FAR more desireable than a generic arena. (You can still hold concerts in a basketball-specific arena.)